Missing Persons
by RapidEyeMovement
Summary: Featuring the 9th Doctor and Rose. The TARDIS materialises in a small American town where some of the locals have been going missing. The Doctor and Rose decide to investigate.
1. Missing Persons

**Disclaimer:** "Doctor Who", the Doctor, the TARDIS, Rose Tyler, Time Lords, etc. all belong to the BBC, they are not mine.

**MISSING PERSONS**

Chapter I

A baby calf, not three days old, was happily grazing with its mother when it saw the strangest thing it would ever see in its life.

At first it heard a thrumming, grinding sound, like old machinery. Then in the middle of the field a blue box slowly faded into view. The calf, and several other young members of the herd, looked up at it. The older cows had seen many weird and wonderful inventions of men, and this magic box was nothing odd to them. The young calves soon ignored it as well.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The door to the TARDIS opened and 19-year-old Rose Tyler stepped out. The farmyard smell hit her urban nostrils and she winced. The Doctor exited after her and took a deep breath.

"Ahhh, fresh countryside air. Doesn't it just fill you with inspiration?" He grinned broadly.

Rose gave him a look and said sarcastically, "Oh yeah, makes me wanna give up my day job and become a farmer definitely." Then she asked, "Where are we exactly?"

The Doctor glanced at his watch, as if it would tell him, "We are somewhere in Pennsylvania, in the good ol' U.S. of A."

"And when?"

"About 'alf ten. C'mon, let's go look around!" He started walking briskly across the field and Rose tagged behind.

A cow looked up at the Doctor as he passed by. "Don't worry," he said, patting his leather jacket, "it's fake."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"I'm telling ya, By, I think she was serious this time. She's been gone since yesterday," explained old Henry Morse. He was referring to his wife.

Sheriff Byron Anderson sat across the diner counter listening to his old friend's ramblings with practiced patience. "Relax, Hank. You two have had worse fights. She'll just be at her sister's." Morse and his wife regularly argued, almost every month like clockwork, and she often left home to go to her sister's for a day or two before cooling down.

"But I called there this morning. She says she hasn't seen Violet."

That peaked Anderson's interest. "Hmm. I guess she wouldn't have any reason to lie..."

"I'm really worried about her this time, By. Especially with those other folks going missing an' all…"

"Okay, Hank. I'll check this one out. I'm sure they're unrelated disappearances. It's only been, what, two people in as many days. Everything will turn out-"

Just then the door opened and the Doctor and Rose walked in. Anderson and Morse looked up at the two strangers.

It was pretty early in the morning for a Tuesday, so they were the only four people in the diner. The two strangers were given odd looks by the two middle-aged American men.

"Howdy!" said the Doctor.

"Hey there," said Anderson. "Never seen you folks before."

"We're just passing through," said the Doctor. He took a seat alongside Anderson. "Got any pancakes? I could really go some good old American-style pancakes drenched in maple syrup."

"Uh, yeah," said Morse and he turned to prepare the pancakes.

"You here on business or pleasure?" Anderson asked them.

Rose took a seat at the counter and replied, "We never really know until we get there."

"What part of England you from?" asked Anderson.

Rose smiled at having her accent recognised. "Oh, I'm from London and he's… he's, y'know, from the North."

The Doctor had noted the man's inquisitive tone. "You seem to be asking a lot of questions, Officer. Do we look suspicious to you?"

Anderson lightened up. "No, not at all. I do apologise. And it's Sheriff. Sheriff Byron Anderson, and this here's Mister Henry Morse." Morse nodded towards them.

"I'm the Doctor and this is Rose Tyler."

"Pleased to meet you," said Rose.

"We don't get many strangers in town, and we have been experiencing some… problems."

"What kind of problems?" asked the Doctor.

Anderson and Morse exchanged a tense look. "A few people have been going missing lately," said the Sheriff. "Mr. Morse here hasn't seen his wife since last night. There are two others unaccounted for as well."

The Doctor and Rose exchanged a look. Silently they were saying to one another, _Let's help them._

The Doctor turned to Morse and asked, "Where was your wife last seen?"

Morse looked at Anderson, who gave him a nod. "Last night, our house, about six o'clock."

"Did she say she was going anywhere?"

"Well we, uh, had a fight. She usually goes to her sister's afterwards, but I've called there and there's no sign."

The Time Lord then directed his questions at Anderson. "What about the others?"

"You think you can help us, Doctor?" said Anderson.

"It's what I do."

Anderson, seemingly somewhat uncomfortable, answered, "The first was two days ago. Sunday morning. Old Mrs. Waters didn't attend church like she usually does _every_ Sunday. Thinking that maybe she was ill, Father Macintyre stopped by her house. She wasn't in. No-one can find any trace of her.

"The next disappearance was reported yesterday afternoon. Donny Phillips, kid about eighteen, didn't show up for work at the gas station. His parents were the last to see him and don't know where he is. And then there's Violet - Hank's wife…"

There was silence as the Doctor contemplated this. Then Morse spoke.

"Can you really help, Doctor?"

"I'll do my best."

"We're good at this sort of thing," said Rose.

"And what sort of thing is that?" asked Anderson.

"Helping people," said Rose.

"I'll need to have a look over your evidence," said the Doctor to the Sheriff. "Y'know, have a sniff around."

Morse gave the unsure Anderson a pleading look. Anderson nodded. He stood and prepared to take them to the police station. "Be my guest, Doctor. Uh, Doctor who?"

"Exactly," said the Doctor.

_To be continued..._

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

**Author's Note: **This is my first fanfic, so reviews (of any nature) are welcome. Chapter II coming soon.


	2. The Black Ship

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the lateness. Reviews still welcome as always.

**Disclaimer: **I still do not own Doctor Who, it all belongs to the BBC.

**MISSING PERSONS**

Chapter II

Rose, the Doctor and Anderson stood in the Sheriff's small office. The Doctor hastily looked over Anderson's scribbled notes and files on each disappearance while Rose made small talk.

"Don't you have any deputies or anything?" she asked Anderson.

Anderson was visibly uncomfortable with the Doctor upsetting his system. "Uh, no. We've got volunteers if anything big happens, but it's a quiet town. Mostly."

"Anything like this ever happen before?"

The Doctor casually tossed a file onto the floor. Anderson bent down to pick it up, grumbling. "What, sorry?"

"Has anything like this happened before?" Rose asked.

"Nothing odd has ever happened here during my days," replied Anderson. Then he thought. "No, actually, that's not true. About a year ago, there was this strange light across the sky."

"Go on," said Rose, alerted by the mention of lights in the sky. The Doctor appeared uninterested.

"It was like streak, like a shooting star or something, but it went into the woods just past Henley's farm. A few of us went up to check it out, in case it was a crashed plane or something…"

"Did you find anything?" asked Rose.

Anderson shook his head heavily. "But the trees up there were scorched pretty bad. Still are today. And the weirdest thing was…" he paused and Rose leaned in, "not one of us can remember walking up there _or_ walking back. I can vividly remember gathering up a few volunteers and preparing to set out. Then, clear as day, I've got memories of the woods and the burnt trees. Then I just remember being back here at the station, talking about it.

"We eventually realised that we couldn't remember anything else. We never really talk about it, even today."

There was a heavy silence.

"Shambles!" interjected the Doctor.

"What?" said Rose.

"Shambles. Can't make head nor tail of it. Your filing system's all upside down, Sheriff."

"Well, look here, Doctor-" started Anderson.

"Nevertheless, I have managed to digest what little information there is."

"And?" said Rose.

"Like I said, there's little of it."

"That's not my fault," said Anderson.

"I know, I know," said the Doctor holding up his hand. "You don't mind if I do my own sniffing around, do you?"

Anderson stared at him a while, contemplating. He clearly didn't like the Doctor muscling in on his turf. He sighed."As long as you do not upset anyone or go where you're not supposed to."

The Doctor grinned. "You can trust me, Sheriff."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Pretty soon, the Doctor and Rose were walking back across the field where the TARDIS had landed.

"So," said Rose, "did you actually find anything useful?"

"Nope," said the Doctor. "It was nothing more that what he told us."

"And what about those lights up in the wood? D'you think that was a spaceship or something?"

"Could be," he replied. "His story wasn't particularly descriptive."

"Well, shouldn't we be checking it out?"

"Don't worry, Nancy Drew, that's the first place I intend to look. I checked some of Anderson's maps of the town."

"So where are these woods?" asked Rose.

"That way," the Doctor pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Other side of town."

"Then why are we going this way?" she asked confused and agitated.

They had reached the TARDIS and the Doctor put his key in the lock. "I can't very well leave this thing standing in the middle of a field. It's bound to get noticed what with all the suspicion around 'ere. We're travelling by TARDIS."

He unlocked the door and they both entered.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

For the second time in its short life, the calf heard the grinding sound of the blue box as it faded out of sight.

But it was not the only one watching…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The TARDIS materialised on the edge of the very woods Sheriff Anderson had mentioned.

The Doctor exited and looked around. "I'm glad that worked. Never can be too sure with that old thing. Mind have wound up in the middle of the ocean or something."

Rose came out behind him. "Welcome to TARDIS Airlines," she said, mimicking an air hostess's voice. "We hope you have a pleasant flight through time and space, though you may not arrive where you intended to go. You may also arrive before you even departed."

The Doctor shook his head at the joke and proceeded to explore.

Even for late morning, it was pretty dark in these woods. As they got deeper and deeper into them, the trees became blackened as though severely burnt.

"We must be in the right place," said Rose.

The Doctor nodded as he examined the burn marks. "I'd say something crashed here alright…"

"A spaceship?" asked Rose.

The Doctor was staring at something up ahead. "Oh yes, I'd definitely say so…"

They both walked out into a clearing. In it was the remains of a crashed alien spacecraft.

It was relatively small - about the size of a bus - black in colour and blocky. Even someone not familiar with alien technology could see that it was badly damaged. Pieces of the hull had been torn off, and much of it was buried in the dirt.

"Do you recognise it?" asked Rose.

"Vaguely," said the Doctor. "But I can't remember where from. That's gonna bug me now." He walked towards the craft.

"Are you sure we should be touching it? Won't it be hot, or something?"

"Rose, it crashed a year ago. It's surely not still warm."

Despite his assurance, the Doctor tentatively put his hand to the hull. It was cool. Rose gave him a smirk.

"Just playing it safe," he said.

He opened an outer hatch using his sonic screwdriver and popped his head in. "Hello! Anyone in?" he called. There was no response. He entered the craft and Rose cautiously followed him. 

"This is definitely familiar," said the Doctor as he looked over the non-functional control panels. "But where from?" he asked himself, annoyed at his poormemory.

There was silence as the Doctor tried to remember. Rose looked over the craft's interior. All these alien spaceships looked the same to her: Bland, metallic, sterile.

"Aha!" shouted the Doctor as he crouched by a small box in the corner. It was the only thing that appeared to be working as its lights were blinking. "This explains it," said the Doctor, running the sonic screwdriver over the device.

"Explains what?" asked Rose.

"This," said the Doctor, "is a engrammatic generator." He tapped the side of his head. "Messes with your memories."

"Is that why Anderson and the others don't remember nothing?"

"Precisely. They probably did see this ship, but by the time they got back to the town, they couldn't remember it. Haven't seen one of these in ages. They're illegal now." He focused the screwdriver on a specific portion. "It seems to be set to human brainwaves only. No wonder; they're really hard to program."

"Does that mean I'll forget all this?" Rose asked.

"Not if I can… Ah! There we go." The box had stopped blinking. The Doctor stood up and pocketed the sonic screwdriver. "I've turned it off, so you're at no risk now." Suddenly, an alarm sounded and the hatch slammed back into place. The Doctor's grin faded. "Or so I thought…" He walked over to a control panel which had just lighted up. "Oh dear," he said in a far too calm voice.

"What? What is it?" shouted Rose over the alarm.

The Doctor turned to look her in the eye. "The self-destruct's been activated."

_To be continued..._


	3. The Cupboard Under the Stairs

**MISSING PERSONS**

Chapter III

"The self-destruct?" said Rose in a panicky voice. "Well, shouldn't we get out of here?"

"That would be the best idea, yes," said the Doctor moving to the hatch. He pressed a button on the hatch's control panel with no results. He the tried the sonic screwdriver on the panel, also with no results. "Time for some percussive maintenance," said the Doctor. He picked up the disabled engrammatic generator from the corner and balanced it over the control panel. "Won't be needing this any more!" After applying his screwdriver to it, he stepped back and waved Rose back as well as the generator whined and then exploded, causing the hatch to open slightly.

The ship's alarms were becoming more frantic now, building up to self-destruct, as the Doctor prised open the hatch and ushered Rose out, closely following her.

Rose ran for cover and ducked behind a nearby rock. The Doctor simply walked a few paces clear of the ship and turned back to watch.

"Doctor, get down! It's gonna blow!" shouted Rose as the alarms became a steady, ear-piercing thrum.

The ship flashed and the Doctor put his hand in front of his eyes. When the flash faded, the ship had gone. Rose tentatively stood.

"You… Y'mean, it wasn't gonna explode?"

"No, course not. Self-destruct by vaporisation. Much cheaper _and_ less mess to clear up." He shook his head. "You humans and your explosions." His face drew into a frown. "Only question is - Who set it off?"

"I thought you did. When you turned off the memory thing."

The Doctor, deep in thought, shook his head. "The engrammatic generator can't link up with other technology. It's too complex. Someone knew we were in there and wanted rid of us…"

Rose took a breath to say something, but the Doctor clicked his fingers, interrupting her. "Signal! Someone had to send a signal to the ship, like a remote." He took off into the woods, Rose running behind.

"Doctor!" she shouted ahead. "What is it?"

"I can use the TARDIS to track the signal!" he shouted back.

By the time Rose reached the TARDIS, the Doctor was already inside, franticly pressing buttons on the console and glaring at the small screen. "Got it!" he declared as she entered.

"You traced the signal?"

"Yup," said the Doctor, folding his arms, "and you'll never guess where it came from."

"Where?"

"Old Mrs. Waters' house."

Rose thought for a moment. "The old lady who first went missing."

"That's right. Hold on!" He threw a switch on the console and the central time rotor began moving as the familiar grinding noise started up.

"We going to her house?" asked Rose.

The Doctor nodded. "Don't think she'll mind if we just let ourselves in, do you?"

They materialised in Mrs. Waters' back garden. It was very spacious, like most American back-yards. She even had a gazebo right at the back, in which the TARDIS decided to appear.

The Doctor unlocked the back door with the sonic screwdriver and they cautiously entered.

"Shouldn't we have knocked first?" whispered Rose.

"Whoever tried to vaporise us is in this house, I don't wanna give us away," he replied.

The house was a typical elderly American women's home. Filled with nostalgic photographs, various brick-a-brack, and altogether too clean, yet musty.

They searched every room in the house but found no one. They met up in the front hallway.

"Find anything?" asked Rose.

"Not yet," said the Doctor, "but there's definitely something here. I can feel it." His eye caught something and he stormed into the kitchen. "What's this…?" he said crouching by the fridge.

"What is it?" asked Rose.

The Doctor held up the fridge's plug. "It wasn't plugged in."

"Maybe someone unplugged it once she went missing," offered Rose.

"I doubt it. Everything else is still plugged in," said the Doctor as he stood. "I think someone's moved this fridge recently." With that he grabbed the fridge and hauled it across the kitchen floor. He dragged it into the middle of the room then gave Rose a glare. "Thanks for your help," he said sarcastically.

Rose shrugged. "You looked like you were managing fine."

The Doctor crouched over the floor where the fridge had been. "Ah!" he proclaimed. "Look at this."

Rose bent down next to him and looked where he was pointing. There was a key-shaped space in the dust. "A key," said Rose. "There used to be a key under the fridge…"

"But now someone's taken it," said the Doctor.

"What d'you think it was the key to?" asked Rose.

Like a flash, the Doctor bolted upright. "I know," he said and then ran back into the hall. Rose followed him and saw him standing by the staircase.

"The cupboard under the stairs," he said. "How could I have missed it?"

"Your 900 odd years must be catching up on you," said Rose teasingly.

The Doctor gave her a look before withdrawing his sonic screwdriver again. He used it on the door and it unlocked. He opened the door to reveal a staircase leading down. "What do we have here?" said the Doctor.

"How do you know that's the key for this cupboard?" said Rose.

"I don't," said the Doctor with a grin. He bent low to get through the small door and they descended the small staircase.

They were in total darkness at the bottom. "Doctor," said Rose, "I can't see anything."

"Really?" said the Doctor. "That's odd…"

"What?"

"Neither can I."

"Just find a lightswitch, Doctor."

"Found one!" he said and there was a click followed by a hum as several fluorescent lights turned on.

"Oh my god…" said Rose as she looked over the now illuminated room.

The basement was filled with disturbingly coffin-sized capsules. The Doctor walked over to one and rubbed his hand across the frosted glass window. The eyes of an elderly woman looked back at him.

"There's people in them!" said Rose, horrified.

"This is Mrs. Waters!" said the Doctor. He walked over to another pod and looked through its screen. "There's people in all of them." They checked one after another, there was about twenty capsules there, then the Doctor looked up. "Donny Philips is here too. I recognise him from photographs in the Sheriff's office. The others must all be people who've gone missing."

"Doctor…" said Rose, looking through one capsule's window.

The Doctor walked over and peered in. His eyes met Rose's as he realised what she had. "It's Sheriff Anderson."

"Very good, Doctor," came a voice from behind them. They both turned to see Anderson - or at least, _another_ Anderson - on the stairs. He had a gun in his hand. "I didn't think you'd get this far. But I'm afraid it's as far as you'll get." He pointed the gun straight at them.

_To be continued..._


	4. None Too Soon, the Skies of Home

**MISSING PERSONS**

Chapter IV

The Anderson look-alike walked down the stairs slowly. "I won't be needing this ridiculous disguise any more," he said and reached into his coat. There was a bleeping sound and Anderson wavered, like a bad TV reception. He then vanished, to be replaced with a slightlyshorter, more rotund man with slicked back hair, orange eyebrows and blue spots across his face. He still wore Anderson's uniform.

"Holographic disguise," said the Doctor. "A wolf in sheep's clothing. And, now that I see your true colours, I recognise the ship. You're an Androgum, aren't you?"

The stranger smiled. "Yes, Doctor. You've met my people before then?"

"Just once," said the Doctor. "On two separate occasions." Before anyone could comment on that non sequiter, the Doctor continued. "But that ship was a bit advanced for any Androgum technology I remember. Self-vaporisation, engrammatic generators, holo-disguises. You must have got them from someone else."

"There is no progress quite like the progress made during wartime," said the Androgum. Using his gun, he gestured Rose and the Doctor to the back of the room. They complied. There was a row of empty capsules at the back.

"The Androgum are at war? My history's a little outdated. With who?" said the Doctor.

"The Sontaran Empire," sneered the Androgum as he tapped at a capsule.

The Doctor simply nodded. Rose spoke up. "What are you doing to all these people, Anderson?"

"My name is Veln," he replied. "A year ago, I was on a scouting mission when a Sontaran battleship intercepted me. I was shot down on this miserable little rock. When Anderson and his friends came looking for me, I captured them and took Anderson's likeness."

"But why?" said Rose. "What are you doing with all these people?"

"The Androgum love the taste of humans," said the Doctor coldly. "They're food for you, aren't they?"

Rose looked at Veln in disgust. "Some of us do not share our more primitive counterparts' lower urges…" he said.

"So you're an Augmented Androgum. That's even worse. An intelligent Androgum."

Veln sneered. "Unfortunately, being stranded in this moronically boring town has driven me to extreme measures. At first it was the homeless - people no one would notice - but then I had to start… branching out. I have tried to repair my ship repeatedly to no avail, but when I saw your odd ship in the field, I knew I had a another way out."

"W-What are you gonna do to us?" said Rose.

"You will be put into suspended animation like the others," said Veln. "Then you will all come with me as I take your ship back to Androgum Prime. You will serve as an 'in-flight meal' as you would say."

"You can't do this!" said Rose. "These are human beings! People, just like you."

"They're nothing like me," said Veln. "I am an Androgum, I'm better than they are. Besides, no one will miss them, no one will come looking for them."

"How can you say that?" said Rose.

"Because no one came looking for me!" yelled Veln. He lowered his voice considerably. "Not my colleagues, not my friends, not even… not even my own family. I'm no one. I'm lost. I'm just another missing person."

The Doctor stepped forward. "It doesn't have to be like this. I can take you back home."

Veln looked up at him. "You… You'd do that?"

"Like Rose told you," said the Doctor. "Helping people's what we do best."

Veln, still pointing the gun at them, considered his options. A look of conflict and indecision was on his face.

"Last time I met your people," said the Doctor, "you were allied with the Sontarans."

"Yes," said Veln. "We were conducting experiments into time travel for them. When we didn't provide the results they wanted, they declared war on us."

"In their eyes, the Sontarans have no equals, no allies. Everyone is inferior to them. They treat other races like slaves, or annoyances to be wiped out. By doing this," the Doctor swept his arm across the room, "how would you be any better?"

There was a heavy silence. Eventually Veln put the gun down on a capsule. "Take me home, Doctor," he said. "Please…"

The Doctor grinned and patted him on the shoulder. "All you had to do was ask."

"What about all these people?" asked Rose.

"I can activate the master awaken sequence. They willall recover within minutes."

"Perfect," said the Doctor. "We won't wanna stick around though. Too many questions. They can sort themselves out easily enough."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Once they had begun the process to awaken everyone, Rose, the Doctor and Veln entered the TARDIS and left.

"Next stop: Androgum Prime," said the Doctor.

"You exited?" Rose asked Veln.

"I have been away for so long," he replied. "I wish only to see my family and the skies of home once again."

The time rotor stopped moving. "We're here," said the Doctor. He frowned as he checked the scanner screen, but Rose and Veln were already on their way out.

They had materialised on top of a high building. Veln walked over to the edge and looked out below him.

They were in the middle of a vast city. All around them was devastation. Buildings were in ruins, roads were strewn with debris, smoke filled the air. The building they stood upon was one of only a handful still standing.

"Oh my god," gasped Rose.

"The war," said Veln quietly. "The Sontarans won."

Behind them, the Doctor slowly exited the TARDIS and approached them.

"Doctor," said Rose, "what happened?"

The Doctor looked at Veln, his face grim. He spoke slowly. "There is evidence of Sontaran weapons fire all over the city. I scanned the whole area, but I can't find any life-signs. I'm sorry…"

Veln turned back to the devastated city. "There's no one left…"

The Doctor stepped forward and put his hand out. "I know how you feel…"

Veln batted his hand away in anger. "How can you possibly know how I feel?"

Without responding to the outburst, the Doctor continued. "My people were wiped out in a war with a xenophobic race as well. I'm the last of my kind."

Veln looked down. "Does is get any easier?"

"No. But the pain is important."

"What now?" asked Veln, almost to himself.

"There may be other survivors. Off-world. In ships, space stations, colonies. I can help you search for them."

"What's the point?" said Veln. "All I wanted was to go home… I have nothing left…"

"You have yourself," said the Doctor. "You can't give up now. I've thought about packing it in hundreds of times since I lost my people - _my_ family - but you've got to keep going because you're all that's left. Your people live on in you. As long as you survive they survive. _That's_ why the pain is important. It's a reminder of them. More importantly than that, it's a warning. A warning not to let the same thing happen again."

Veln considered the Doctor's words. "You are right, Doctor," he said. "I will search for my people. And even if I find no one, it is as you say: At least I have myself."

The Doctor put his hand on Veln's shoulder. "Can we drop you off anywhere?"

He shook his head. "No, thank you, Doctor. I shall start looking here."

The Doctor nodded and shook Veln's hand. "Good luck."

"And to you, Doctor," said Veln. "I hope you find your people someday."

The Doctor said nothing as Rose hugged the man who, mere minutes ago, had been ready to kill them.

Veln watched as Rose and the Doctor entered the TARDIS which then vanished before his eyes. He walked down the stairs, out into the streets and began the long search for his missing people.

_The end._

**Author's Note: **The Doctor last met the Androgum "Just once... On two seperate occasions" in _The Two Doctors_ where his Second and Sixth incarnations run into them. Look out for my next story, a Doctor Who crossover, but with what I shan't say... yet.


End file.
